The Arizona sentinel., 1887-10-15
ODD SCENES IN sIvAs.
Customs Observed by the Turkish People
 When Making Purchases.

When Making Purchases.
 Like most Turkish towns, Sivas has its covered bazars, but they are not ex- tensive. and are not particularly worthy of notice. Most of the mer- cantile business is done on two long streets, running nearly parallel with each other. These streets are lined on both sides with shops. They are nar- row and ill-paved. and. during business hours, are so crowded with men, horses, donkeys and cattle that they are difficult of passage. A little rain covers the uneven cobblestOnes with mud as slippery as ice, making pedes- trianism any thing but pleasant. There are no sidewalks. A line of stones through the center is raised little above the level of the street and serve as stepping stones when the mud is very bad, which it generally is. The stores are merely booths. They boast neither counters, shelves nor chairs. The floor is elevated two or three feet above the street, and there the mer- chant sits on his heels with his goods spread around him. The customer stands in the street, or, if he be a man of importance, climbs upon the plat form and sits with the merchant. Buy ing any thing of any value is very elaborate process. It is not to be hur- ried over, and requires vast deal of bargaining. If the buyer is a foreigner the dealer is very deferential and ment- ally marks his goods 100 per cent higher.
 When the customer goes into the shop and sits down, before any thing is said about buying, coffee is served. Then the merchant rolls a cigarette and hands it to his guest. Pipes instead are sometimes offered, but not often now, as the cigarette has almost entirely dis placed the pipe in Asia Minor. After the coffee and the smoke, the subject of purchasing something is gradually ap- preached. Not abruptly; that would involve Joss of dignity, but slowly and circumspectly-casually, as it were-as if the buying of any thing was mere after-thought not intended in the first place. The customer has just dropped in for friendly call. The merchant is not merchant, but host entertaining guest.
 This pleasant little fiction is kept up for half an hour or more, until, by gradual approaches, the customer indi- cates what he wants. After due time spent in discussing the quality of the goods, the customer asks the price in an of-hand way, as if he were not particu- larly interested. The merchant replies: 70, whatever your Highness pleases. |" or 'I shall be proud if your High ness will do me the honor of accepting it as a gift" This, of course, is a mere form of Oriental politeness and means nothing, as both parties under stand; it is merely a graceful introduce ton to the haggling over the price which is sure to follow, for the Turkish merchant never has fixed price for any thing. To do so would be to vio- late all the principles of his mercantile code What he sells thing for de- bends entirely on the customer. When the buyer insists on having a price stated the seller will, with engaging frankness, with manner of silk and a forehead of brass, name a figure at least four times what the article is worth. Then the real business com- mences. The buyer offers half or fourth of what he expects finally to give. The ''war of words to cheapen this or that is then indefinitely con- tinued, each gradually yielding a point until they finally agree on a figure. This bargaining, with the loud talk which accompanies it, is very amusing to foreigner, unless he is personally interested, when it becomes generally exasperating.- Cor. Bostcn Herald.